NEW YORK – CVS Caremark Corp. said Tuesday that charges and higher costs outweighed a boost in the drugstore operator’s pharmacy sales, pushing first-quarter profit down slightly.

But overall, CVS’ results showed some resilience to the tough economy, which has battered even sales of essential items like prescriptions.

CVS said revenue from both prescriptions and discretionary items increased, with most products selling well aside from cough and cold treatments. That was a break with competitor Walgreen Co., which reported weaker sales of nonessential items in its most recent quarter as consumers cut back amid the recession.

It added that those sales remained strong in April.

CVS also said the integration of Longs Drugs stores, which the company bought in October, is going smoothly. The $2.7 billion deal gave CVS 529 stores in California and other western states, along with the RxAmerica pharmacy benefits management business.

Providing a further boost to the Caremark pharmacy benefits management business was the new Maintenance Choice program, which was launched at the start of the year. Maintenance Choice allows health plan members to pick up 90-day orders at drugstores while paying lower mail-order prices, has “really taken off.” That led to greater sales at drugstores as well.

The company earned $738.4 million, or 50 cents per share, down from profit of $745 million, or 51 cents per share, a year prior. Revenue rose 10 percent to $23.39 billion from $21.33 billion.

Excluding costs related to its buyout of Longs Drugs stores, the company says it earned 55 cents per share. Wall Street expected 54 cents per share on revenue of $23.64 billion.

The company raised its profit forecast for the year by 2 cents, to a range of $2.55 to $2.63 per share excluding one-time costs. CVS said it expects greater pharmacy benefits management revenue, partly because of an accounting change.

Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS said sales rose despite one less reporting day during the quarter. Revenue was also helped by the Longs acquisition, which added about $1.2 billion in sales.

CVS Chief Financial Officer Dave Rickert said margins as Longs stores are better than expected, and the company has not needed to spend quite as much as it planned to combine the businesses.

Sales of most retail items were strong, Rickert said, including health and beauty products and general merchandise. Cough and cold sales were relatively weak because of a soft flu season, and photography revenue continued to decline.

Sales of antibiotics, hand sanitizers and protective masks have jumped in recent days due to fears of a potential swine flu epidemic, but if those fears ease and sales return to normal, Rickert said it will have little effect on the company’s second-quarter results.

Chief Executive Tom Ryan said the company would consider buying a pharmacy benefits management unit from a health insurer. Express Scripts Inc. made a similar purchase last month, which may allow it to leapfrog CVS Caremark in size.

The Caremark business is one of the largest pharmacy benefits management business in the U.S. It began testing the Maintenance Choice program last year after finding that many health plan members prefered to pick up prescriptions in person rather than getting them through the mail.

Pharmacy benefits managers have been encouraging greater use of mail-order because the plans allow them to make larger profits, while plan operators and members can save money. Maintenance Choice is slightly more profitable than mail-order alone for CVS, as it is spared the costs of mailing the products.

During the quarter, CVS opened 39 new retail stores while closing 50, five specialty pharmacies and one mail order facility. Also, it moved 53 retail stores. As of March 31, CVS operated 6,912 stores, 52 specialty pharmacy stores, 20 specialty mail order pharmacies and 6 mail order pharmacies in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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